Everything about Frederick Louis Maytag I totally explained
Frederick Louis Maytag I (
July 14,
1857 –
March 26,
1937) also known as
F. L. Maytag, founded the
Maytag Company, which eventually became the Maytag Corporation which was acquired by the
Whirlpool Corporation in 2005.
Birth
F.L. was born in
Cook County, Illinois, the eldest of 10 children born to German immigrants, Amelia Tarebun (1837-?) and Daniel William Maytag (1831-?). The full set of children were: Frederick Louis Maytag I (1857-1937) ; Lewis R. Maytag (1859-?); Martha M. Maytag (1862-?); Theodore Henry Maytag (1864-1931); Jacob B. Maytag (1867-?); Emma Maytag (1869-?); Daniel C. Maytag (1872-?); Helena Maytag (1875-?); Anna A. Maytag (1878-?); and Viola Maytag (1880-?). When ten years old F.L. traveled in a covered wagon with his family to a small farm near
Laurel, Iowa in
1867.
Business
In
1893 F.L., his two brothers-in-law, and George W. Parsons each contributed
US$600, for a total of
US$2,400, to start a new farm implement company named Parsons Band-Cutter & Self Feeder Company. This company produced threshing machines, band-cutters, and self-feeder attachments invented by Parsons.
F.L. Maytag eventually took sole control of the firm and renamed it the Maytag Company. As Maytag grew, F.L. forayed into other businesses. In the
1910s, F.L. left the day-to-day company operation in the hands of sons
Elmer Henry Maytag and
Lewis Bergman Maytag, to concentrate on other business areas including new innovations of a washing machine with a gas powered motor branded as the
Multi-Motor and a washing machine with an agitator that forced the water through the clothes branded as the
Gyrafoam. These inventions proved extremely valuable as by
1927, Maytag was producing more than twice the washers of its nearest competition and had outperformed the industry with growth doubling for five consecutive years.
Even after
Elmer Henry Maytag became Maytag's president in
1926, F.L. was active in promoting Maytag products, and ensuring worker happiness and often greeted employees by asking, "Is everybody happy?"
Marriage
F.L. married Dena Bergman, and they'd two sons and two daughters. To the city of
Newton, Iowa, F.L. donated a 40-acre park and swimming pool, now named Maytag Park and Maytag Pool. He built and donated the Maytag Hotel and spearheaded a theater and a water plant. F.L. also built hundreds of houses for his workers, selling them on easy terms.
Death
In
1937, Frederick Maytag died of a heart ailment at Good Samaritan Hospital, near his winter home in
Beverly Hills, California. He left a
US$10 million estate.
A special train brought mourners from the
east coast to
Newton, Iowa, and an estimated 10,000 factory workers and salesmen formed a line five blocks in length to observe the casket processional. Those who couldn't fit into the First Methodist Church were taken to four other churches and two halls.
Quotes
- "In all business, there's a factor which can't be compensated for in dollars and cents or computed by any measure. It has no relation or connection with the mercenary and is represented only by the spirit of love which the true craftsman holds for his job and the things he's trying to accomplish."
- "Is everybody happy?"
Further Information
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